Hamilton County Drug Court Enhancement Project

FY 2022 BJA Hamilton County Recovery Court Enhancement ProjectProject AbstractThe Hamilton County Recovery Court (HCRC) is applying for the BJA FY22 Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program; Category 2 for Enhancement. The program seeks priority consideration to address the current disparity in services in the population, with an emphasis on increasing access to historically underserved populations. A detailed plan is outlined beginning on page 10 of the Proposal Narrative. HCRC is a post-adjudication, adult drug court that serves individuals with misdemeanor charges. The total number of participants projected to receive services over the life of the grant period is a minimum of 210. The minimum time requirement to complete the program is 16 months, a maximum of 3 years, and an average of 2 years. The target population is non-violent individuals with misdemeanor charges who have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder.  The HCRC policy states that no participant is prohibited from participating in MAT under the care of a licensed physician. The HCRC actively refers participants to participate in MAT programs that are funded through the Tennessee Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in order to receive MAT services at no cost.Enhancement goals include restructuring treatment to an in-house model, improving and increasing diversity within the program, increasing recovery support services, and integrating a third-party evaluator. In-house treatment will increase the delivery of evidence based curricula, apply appropriate treatment dosage, and promote curriculum fidelity. A detailed plan on increasing diversity is outlined on page 10 of the proposal narrative. Recovery support services will include the implementation of an alumni program, the Social Recovery Initiative, and family programming. Third party evaluation will include quarterly site visits, reviews, and program feedback. NADCP Best Practice I, II, III, V, VI, VIII, IX, X are addressed and cited within the program narrative and integrated into program goals. HCRC was awarded the BJA federal grant in 2019 in order to implement the misdemeanor track in the Drug Court. The grant period completes in December 2022 and HCRC will not draw down any funds if awarded the FY2022 grant until the current grant funding has been expended.